Precious Life are deeply concerned about a fresh attack on Northern Ireland's pro-life laws and our democratic process as a pro-abortion meeting occurs in Belfast today.

Amnesty International and the Family Planning Association (FPA) will today (Thursday 8 February) host a delegation of Labour MPs in Belfast, led by Shadow Secretary of State Owen Smith, as they meet with key individuals and organisations working alongside them to attack and attempt to overthrow Northern Ireland’s pro-life laws protecting both mother and child.

In response to calls for 'free, safe and legal abortion' for women in Northern Ireland, Precious Life remind the people of Northern Ireland that there is no such thing as free or safe abortion. "Abortion is never safe for either women or unborn children - it kills unborn babies and often leaves a devastating impact on women's physical, mental and emotional health, as well as on their families. Furthermore, abortion is never free and costs the UK taxpayer an estimated average of £680 per abortion.

Bernadette Smyth said today, "No one should be entitled to an abortion because abortion is not healthcare. It is the intentional killing of an unborn child. Furthermore not one international human rights instrument recognises a right to abortion. The law in Northern Ireland protects both mother and child. In fact, Northern Ireland is among the safest places for women to give birth. Over nearly fifty years of legalised abortion in Britain, higher abortion rates have run parallel to higher incidences of stillbirths, premature births, low birth-weight neonates, cerebral palsy, and maternal deaths as direct consequences of abortion. In contrast, Northern Ireland of course displays lower rates of all illnesses and deaths associated with legalised abortion.”

Mrs Smyth concluded, "These MPs need to except our cultural respect for human life and stop interfering in Northern Ireland politics. Nearly 9 million little unborn children have been brutally murdered through abortion in the UK alone and the people of Northern Ireland definitely do not want to see the same legal and cultural disregard for human life here."